Chapter 62: The Chilling Truth! Terrifying Kyubey! The Witch of This Shore!
『 "I say, shouldn't things be this way?"
She looked at Homura and said slowly, "Not contending with anyone, everyone working together to live on. Is a heart that prays for such a thing so unforgivable that it must be punished?"
Homura, however, was stunned. "You want to protect a witch!"
"That is, after all, our form when we reach the end of our rope. One can't help but feel sympathy," Sayaka nodded.
"I also just remembered the most crucial thing," Homura stared intently at Sayaka. "Mami Tomoe remembered fighting wraiths, not witches."
"Kyoko Sakura didn't deduce that this might be a witch's barrier, not because she forgot about witches, but because neither of them knew of the existence of witches."
"That's natural," Homura gazed at the world with empty eyes. "Because witches no longer exist in this universe. All magical girls' souls were reclaimed by the Law of Cycles before they could become witches."
"It was that child who reshaped the world into this form, at the cost of her sacrifice..."
"Is that so? You still remember," Sayaka also fell silent.
"That's right, and I should be the only one who remembers." Homura's gaze was chilling as she looked at Sayaka.
"There can't possibly be a third person who remembers here!"
"One is the witch who set up this barrier! Another is Bebe, who still exists in witch form! And the last one is you, who knows about witches!"
"Who are you? Are you really Sayaka Miki?"
Unbeknownst to them, the ground had turned into seawater. Under the moonlight, Sayaka's figure stood in the center of the water like a mermaid princess.
Sayaka twisted her head in an eerie manner, her eyes strange.
"That's a nasty thing to say. I am the me you know, transfer student—"
A gigantic phantom of a mermaid appeared beneath Homura's feet. The witch's figure was distorted and chaotic. The two clashed in a single strike.
But when Homura activated Za Warudo, Sayaka had already vanished without a trace.
Only Sayaka's final words remained.
"Do you really have the heart to destroy this place? Don't let yourself regret it." 』
『 .....』
〜Myriad Worlds livestream Chat〜
[ Ereshkigal (Type-Moon): "Things are getting more and more unreasonable! How can Sayaka have two forms at once?! Could it be Sayaka's witch barrier? But what about the Law of Cycles? Why hasn't it regularized witches?" ]
[ Shido Itsuka (Date A Live): "I'm understanding less and less now. Who exactly is the enemy? What's going on with the witches? What is Mitakihara hiding?" ]
[ Dr. Clef (SCP): "Is there such a possibility? That the Supreme Being... the Law of Cycles, which is Madoka's true form, has gone mad?!" ]
[ Merlin (Type-Moon): "...You, the words you speak are truly terrifying. But this big brother doesn't dislike it. If that were truly the case, then it would be too joyful... no, too sad~" ]
[ Fou (Type-Moon): "Fou!" (Merlin, go die!)]
[ Dr. Rights (SCP): "Don't mind him, there's rarely a true word in his mouth." ]
[ Li Huowang (Dao of the Bizarre Immortal): "That's right... That's right! If people can go mad! Monsters can go mad! Why can't our world go mad?! This Daoist seriously suspects my world is mad! It's not me who's mad, it's this world!" ]
[ .....]
〜Bleach World〜
"Admiration is the furthest distance from understanding,"
Aizen sighed, but the gentle smile on his face, like a spring breeze, never changed.
Did Homura Akemi truly understand?
From her initial admiration for Madoka Kaname's magical girl figure, to now, wanting to touch that divine being who loves the world, no matter the cost.
What is the heart of a god truly like?
Aizen shook his head, gazing at the dark sky, his thoughts seemingly drifting to a distant place.
"A world with a god... is also unbearable."
—
『 This is a false town, a world of someone's dream and wish.
Not here, not here, not here—
Mine, mine, mine—
The world has fallen into absolute illusion—
Doll-like Kyoko, Mami Tomoe, Bebe, Sayaka...
Someone escaped into this impossible world and dragged everyone else in.
Betraying the mission of fighting wraiths, such cowardice cannot be forgiven.
Magical girls must constantly fight—
The world turned into a white canvas, Homura Akemi knelt before a statue of a god, dolls eating pomegranates falling to hell.
The god's finger pointed to—miracle.
This must be a wish for a miracle. It's because of us that she stepped forward, wanting to save us.
Torment, torment, torment—pain, pain, pain—guilt, guilt, guilt—
Kneeling before the god, hands clasped in prayer, the torment and pain in her heart burned like raging flames.
This farce is merely desecrating Madoka's sacrifice.
Unforgivable...
A scarlet pomegranate was thrown, and distorted dolls shouted, "God is dead, God is dead."
Specks of blood fell onto the canvas...
The girl rode a wooden horse with gouged-out eyes, moving forward, deeper into the misty light... 』
『 .....』
〜Myriad Worlds livestream Chat〜
[ Tezcatlipoca (Type-Moon): "I... I completely understand! Hahahaha! So that's it! God is dead, the Madoka system has a loophole, right?! Pomegranates symbolize the fruit of hell in some myths. Who stole the fruit of hell~" ]
[ Riddler (DCEU): "Eh?! Why did you just blurt it out like that?! Isn't being a riddler better?!" ]
[ Penguin (DCEU): "Riddler, get out of Gotham!" ]
[ Gilgamesh⦍Chūnibyō⦎ (Type-Moon): "Hmph hahahaha! This truly was a good show for this King!" ]
[ Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece): "So what exactly is going on? You've been talking for ages, and I don't understand a single word." ]
[ .....]
〜Type-Moon World, Fourth Holy Grail War Worldline〜
"Confusion, pain, struggle...",
Kirei Kotomine was enlightened, a satisfied pleasure blooming in his empty eyes.
So that's how it is. That girl, plunged into despair, is now at a crossroads of despair, experiencing an even more desperate moment.
She is utterly unable to choose!
Suffering in happiness, is there anything more pleasurable than this!
This is simply... simply—!
"Lord, please forgive me..."
—
『 Viewers of Myriad Worlds 』
Many viewers had already figured out that the witch Homura Akemi was so concerned about was actually herself!
A girl who is the only normal one amidst the chaos, doesn't that feel even more unsettling?
Homura Akemi never let go. Her inner despair did not diminish but increased, and the confusion she now faced made its colors even more chaotic.
What should she do?
A sinner who defiled a god? A person who yearned to touch a god?
Everyone had already set a tragic ending for Homura Akemi... no, perhaps a happy ending?
After all, Homura Akemi has always adored the god, hasn't she?
But... everyone forgot one thing—
.....
〜Myriad Worlds livestream Barrage〜
Construct a false Mitakihara?
A false Madoka living happily within it?
Her own heart finds satisfaction?
〜Puella Magi Madoka Magica World〜
"..."
"How... HOW CAN SUCH A FALSE EXISTENCE BRING HAPPINESS TO MADOKA!!!"
Homura Akemi roared.
Her cold, dark eyes stared intently at herself on the screen.
Absolutely... absolutely not just this!
—
『 "Homura-chan~!" Just then, the energetic girl shouted, and Homura's empty eyes instantly regained their luster.
She even hastily wiped the blood from her face.
The two left the small boat and returned to the garden. Madoka, as always, comforted Homura.
Homura looked at Madoka's figure with affection, a faint, clear light spilling from her purple eyes.
Homura lowered her head and couldn't help but whisper, "Madoka, I had a terrible dream."
"You went to a place so far away that we could never meet again."
"Yet everyone in the world forgot about it, and only I remembered Madoka, left behind in the world."
Homura couldn't help but sob, releasing her past grievances and sorrow in front of that gentle person. "I'm lonely, I'm sad."
"But... but no one can understand these feelings."
In the blooming pure white yudare garden, Homura cried out in suppressed pain, "Gradually... I started to doubt if my memories of Madoka were something I fabricated myself."
"Even I started not to believe myself."
"That must have been a nasty dream," Madoka gently hugged Homura, soothing her softly.
"It's alright, I would never go to a place so far away that I could never meet anyone again by myself."
—Crunch, something shattered.
"Why?" Homura's eyes sparkled with emotion.
"How could I endure something so painful that even Homura would cry because of it?" Madoka gently stroked Homura's back.
"For you, that's also something too painful to bear." In a place Madoka couldn't see, the girl's eyes trembled rapidly, then suddenly became empty.
"Sayaka, Mami, Kyoko, Homura, Mom and Dad, everyone... I don't want to part with anyone. Even when there's no other way, I don't have the courage."
—!!!
Her mind was struck by lightning, tears streamed down Homura Akemi's face, and a despair named salvation burst forth—
Invisible light shone on the two of them. Madoka continued to comfort her, but didn't notice that Homura, behind her, was already filled with despair.
The girl, like a corpse, had only one thought in her mind at this moment.
She... what a foolish mistake she had made!!!
Unbeknownst to them, the pure white turned dark.
On this desolate land, Homura Akemi muttered as if mad.
"I really shouldn't have accepted it... At that time, I should have stopped you, NO MATTER WHAT MEANS I USED!!!"
Petals receded, dandelions bloomed across the sky.
Like that love that couldn't stay...
"I know," Homura gazed at Madoka with a gentle, pathological intensity.
"I originally thought you were a phantom, a figment created by someone."
"Otherwise, how could we meet again like this?"
The Madoka in front of her was a little stunned, but joy and pain were hidden in Homura's brows and eyes.
"No matter how I think about it, it's strange, but I know you are the real Madoka."
"I'm so happy—"
"I have to go. There are things I haven't finished yet," Homura gave Madoka a gentle look, then turned and vanished.
Kyubey gazed deeply at this scene. 』
『 .....』
〜Myriad Worlds livestream Chat〜
[ Shuten Doji (Type-Moon): "Why... when I heard Madoka say she didn't have the courage, my scalp tingled! I feel like Homura is going to do something terrifying!" ]
[ Shirai Kuroko (A Certain Magical Index): "It's too unreasonable... Compared to this virtual and twisted Mitakihara, what's more unsettling is Homura Akemi!" ]
[ Saten Ruiko (A Certain Magical Index): "...Homura Akemi is the true witch. She deceived herself in this Mitakihara." ]
[ Tezcatlipoca (Type-Moon): "Oh, has the girl discovered it? But it's a pity, people living in a false world are ultimately unreal, but what Madoka said is true~" ]
[ Yotsuya Miko (Mieruko-chan): "In other words, Madoka is the one who least wants to become a god, but because she loves the world, she had no choice but to become one." ]
[ Lady Avalon (Type-Moon): "So it's really interesting~. If Homura hadn't constantly cursed... strengthened Madoka back then, Madoka wouldn't have become a god~. The thing Homura desperately tried to prevent ended up being the biggest helper. Fate truly is ironic~" ]
[ Kurosaki Ichigo (Bleach): "I think I understand. So, next, Homura Akemi will accept herself and become a witch, right?" ]
[ Kirschtaria Wodime (Type-Moon): "One can only accept the tricks of fate. The god doesn't want to be a god, the demon doesn't want the god to be a god, but the trajectory of fate moves in the opposite direction. This is destined to be a tragedy without a good end." ]
[ .....]
〜Jujutsu Kaisen World〜
"Monkeys burning sake... too dirty!"
Jogo cursed.
He was just mocking Homura Akemi for not going for the kill against Mami Tomoe, and now Homura has turned into a witch, the final boss!
Can't they just have a straightforward, easy-to-understand fight?!
—
『 Having understood everything, Homura decided to conduct one last experiment.
She placed her Soul Gem at a bus stop, then took a bus and circled the city she was in.
Ten meters, fifty meters, a hundred meters...
Homura's eyes were devoid of any ripple. She pulled out her gun and shattered her Soul Gem—
At this moment, Homura finally accepted everything. She... was the witch—
The hour and minute hands of the clock tower both turned to twelve. The deafening chime rang out.
Midnight struck twelve, the magic was undone, Cinderella it was time to go home.
The speeding bus burst into raging flames. The vessel carrying hope and despair shattered with a roar at this moment.
Fire rained from the sky, a scarlet apocalypse engulfed the world. This world had already become a boundless absurdity.
Scarlet spider lilies bloomed, the god's legs stained with blood.
Why... why am I like this...
When exactly—
High above, an hourglass hung. A terrifying witch with a black pointed hat on her head let out a piercing laugh.
The Witch of the Other Side!
Time Despair Hope Hehehe!
"Even though I didn't want to know the truth at all, I still couldn't help but search for it." Kyubey's figure appeared brazenly in the absurd world.
"I'm increasingly finding human curiosity to be too unreasonable," Kyubey recalled the spiderweb.
Beside him, a bride in a white shiromuku (is it good?) bowed.
"But I know you will find the answer someday, Homura Akemi."
"So it was all your scheme after all," Homura Akemi, clad in black, her black hair flowing like a demon, looked at Kyubey with eyes that regarded him as a dead thing.
"Your remaining question is where your life and soul are now, isn't it?" Kyubey asked.
"I will answer that question for you."
—Space, barrier
It finally focused on a comatose girl.
"This is what you look like in reality, outside this false Mitakihara City."
In a space completely cut off from all living things, countless pink eyes gazed emotionlessly at the sleeping girl within the barrier.
Homura's pupils contracted. She said in disbelief, "How could this be..."
"The interference isolation field we created enveloped your Soul Gem, trapping your Soul Gem, which was contaminated to its limit, in an environment untouched by any external influence."
"What will happen then?"
The scenery changed.
The surroundings were desolate. It turned out that for sufficient safety, Kyubey even conducted the experiment in an absolutely barren world.
The power to purify magical girls and cause them to perish, when it is isolated from the phenomenon you call the Law of Cycles.
What will happen to the Soul Gem?
"We indeed observed an extremely interesting phenomenon: the formation of a closed space dominated by a unique law, and the enticement and capture of external victims."
"We didn't expect you to imitate and recreate a city. This is astonishing."
This was inside Homura Akemi's Soul Gem. Kyubey turned his head. Reflected by the falling airship, he looked like a demon emerging from hell. 』
『 .....』
『 Viewers of Myriad Worlds 』
So this was the truth! Everyone broke out in a cold sweat, their scalps tingling.
Could Kyubey actually isolate such an existence?!!
Everyone understood clearly that the difficult part wasn't the experiment, but the god-level civilization that could isolate a supreme will!
Is this what an Incubator is?!
Then... then their ultimate goal... is to steal the power of a god?!!
.....